A soft-stop or damping device is described for use in a system that operates to slow and damp the movement of a door and, more particularly, a soft-stop device is described for slowing movement and providing a buffering effect to a rolling or sliding door at an end position.
Soft-stop and damping devices are increasingly being used in order to prevent a door from hitting a door frame when the door is shut too forcefully or at a high rate of speed. In one application, a soft-stop device is used with a rolling or sliding door panel. The rolling or sliding door panel can be manually moved along a rail between an opened or a closed position. The moving door panel can bump against the door frame or a wall at a door end position. A rapidly moving door panel can cause damage to the door panel or the door frame and risks injury to users.
A resilient buffering pad or block is sometimes mounted on the rail to keep a door panel from bumping against the door frame or the wall. The resilient buffering pad brakes the movement of the door adjacent the door end position for preventing damage to the door panel and the door frame. The pad or block may be combined with a mating attraction device, such as a magnetic member, to hold the door in the end position.
A problem with the resilient buffering pad or block is the rebounding force on the door panel when the door panel abuts with the pad or block. The door panel can rebound from the contact position due to the rebounding force, so that the rolling or sliding door cannot be positioned at the end position without manual intervention.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a new soft-stop device for slowing the movement of the rolling or sliding door panel approaching an end position. The soft-stop device should absorb some of the forces exerted as the door is being closed and resist the motion of the closing door. The soft-stop device can be a part of a damping system designed to damp, resist and reduce the amount of speed and force of a rolling or sliding door panel to produce a soft, quiet opening or closing action.